Inception (2010) *****

When you look at Christopher Nolan's filmography you can see a steady, recurring theme where the most basic set piece is the human mind. The mind is the central figure and how it is influenced by outside influences, developing into not what we want it to be, but what it has been through. It can't be trained, it has to be beaten like a piece of molten steel. You could create a sword or a shit shovel. Either way it goes through the process.

Nolan's newest film, Inception, is yet another examination of the brain, but this time the director has chosen to go deeper than ever, going into the subconscious, that Bermuda Triangle of the human mind where dreams rise and are lost forever, where connections are made that could never be achieved while we are awake. It's the place where our secrets come out to play. 

The story revolves around a new brand of corporate espionage. Basically, the idea is that people can infiltrate a persons dreams and get information. Of course in this era information can be worth millions, so the stakes are high. It takes a highly trained team to pull off such a maneuver, with the dreams being literally constructed and the subjects sedated so that their world is open for business. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is the leader of his team, a man haunted by past memories and dreams. His team includes Arthur (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Eames (Tom Hardy), Ariadne (Ellen Page),and Yusef (Dileep Rao). Each has a speciality on the team, be it chemistry, psychology, or architecture. The thing about their newest assignment is that they need to do something different, something that has never been tried before. A failed extraction subject named Saito (Ken Watanabe) wants them to leave an idea for the heir of a major competitor (Cillian Murphy) to clear the monopoly that is standing in his way.

Inception is a film built on layers. As you watch the film you lose track of where reality exists and what the boundaries are to the imagination. It's an extensive work; an achievement that it has actually been accepted by the public at large. Cerebral films are hard to come by anymore with the same well worn plots and characters being recycled over and over again. Inception brings something fresh to a summer filled with big budget turds that fill cineplexes throughout the country. I will warn you that this is a film that you can't leave in the middle to get some Junior Mints or take a piss during. You will get lost. Just buy your shit and take your shit before you sit down and enjoy the wonder of another world that is just a rapid eye movement away. Inception is a masterpiece.